The invention relates to systems for filling and refilling liquids in cooking apparatus and more particularly to systems for recovery of used cooking oil and refilling of fresh cooking oil in a cooking apparatus.
A large amount of cooking oil is used in the restaurant business. For example, food fryers use a bath of hot oil for deep frying various foods, such as french fries, chicken, and other foods. It is desirable to reuse such cooking oil for only a predetermined amount of time and to change the cooking oil periodically. The cooking oil used in the deep fryers is hot and remains hot for some period of time so that removal of the used cooking oil can be dangerous.
In one known system, the cooking oil is drained into a portable vat and stored until removed by a oil handling service. In the use of the portable vat, the cooking oil may be spilled, and restaurant personnel may be injured by the hot oil or by slipping on the spilled cooking oil. Restaurant personnel handling the vat must be strong enough to carry or roll the vat and may become injured in doing so.
In another known system, a used cooking oil tank and fresh cooking oil tank are located on the premises. An appropriate hose for draining used oil from the fryer and refilling the fryer with fresh oil is stored somewhere in the restaurant. The hose is removed from storage and connected to the food fryer at one end and connected to the used oil tank at the other end. The used oil is conveyed from the food fryer to the used oil tank, through the hose. The hose is then connected to the fresh oil tank and the food fryer is replenished with cooking oil from the fresh oil tank. This system requires the connection and disconnection of a hose with the food fryer and requires plural tanks, as well as moving the hose to and from a storage location. The oil tends to drip from the ends of the hose. This presents a risk of injury to restaurant personnel from burns, slipping on spilled cooking oil, or tripping over the hose. Furthermore, the system is cumbersome and wastes time.
Further improvements in the systems for recovery and refilling of liquids in cooking apparatus are desired.
In one aspect of the present invention, a nozzle for draining and refilling liquid for a cooking apparatus comprises a housing, a fresh liquid line carried by the housing and a used liquid line carried by the housing. The fresh liquid line has an outlet for dispensing fresh liquid and the used oil line has an inlet for receiving used liquid. The fresh liquid line and separate used liquid line avoids contaminating the fresh liquid with the used liquid drained from the apparatus.
The nozzle desirably includes at least one actuator carried by the housing for actuating at least one pump. The at least one actuator may comprise at least one switch for actuating the at least one pump. The fresh liquid line and the used liquid line may comprise flexible tubing for communicating liquid with at least one pump. The wiring and flexible tubing may extend from the back end of the housing. A tube is desirably attached to the back end of the housing so that the wiring, fresh liquid line, and the used liquid line extends through the tube.
In a preferred embodiment, the at least one actuator comprises a first switch for actuating a first pump and a second switch for actuating a second pump. In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle includes a selector knob for selecting the first switch or the second switch and a button for actuating either the first switch or the second switch. Separate pumps are desirably used in draining and refilling the apparatus using the nozzle. The first pump for the fresh liquid and the separate second pump for the used liquid further ensures that the fresh liquid is maintained separately from the used liquid drained from the apparatus.
In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle has an inlet tube connected to the used liquid line and an outlet tube connected to the fresh liquid line. The used liquid line and the fresh line desirably comprise flexible tubes, whereas the inlet tube and outlet tube desirably comprise rigid tubing. The inlet tube may include an end cap connected to a free end of the inlet tube. The end cap preferably carries a screen. The outlet tube may include a shut-off valve connected to a free end of the outlet tube. The shut-off valve desirably comprises a check valve that operates automatically to stop the flow of fresh liquid from the outlet tube. The inlet tube is used for draining liquid from the apparatus and the outlet tube is used for refilling the apparatus with fresh liquid. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a cooking apparatus and the liquid drained and refilled comprises cooking oil. The inlet tube and the used liquid line desirably comprise a material for conveying hot cooking oil and for withstanding temperatures of cooking oil used in the cooking apparatus. The outlet tube and the fresh liquid oil desirably comprise food grade material, as where the apparatus compresses a cooking apparatus. The inlet tube and the outlet tube may comprise stainless steel tubes, whereas the fresh liquid line and used liquid line may comprise silicone tubes.
In a further aspect of the invention, a system for draining used liquid and refilling fresh liquid for a cooking apparatus comprises a cooking apparatus, a fresh liquid tank, a used liquid tank, at least one pump for delivering fresh liquid to the cooking apparatus and draining used liquid from the cooking apparatus, a nozzle having a fresh liquid line and a used liquid line, and piping connecting the fresh liquid tank, the used liquid tank, the at least one pump and the nozzle. The nozzle is utilized in draining the liquid from the cooking apparatus and conveying the liquid to the used liquid tank. The nozzle is then used for delivering fresh liquid from the fresh liquid tank and conveying the fresh liquid to the cooking apparatus. At least one pump conveys the liquid between the cooking apparatus and the tanks via the nozzle. Piping connects the nozzle to the tanks through the pumps. The nozzle is a separate hand-held apparatus that is conveniently stored on the premises for the cooking apparatus.
In a preferred arrangement, a fill box is included in the system and has at least one port for communicating from an exterior side in the building in which the cooking apparatus is located to the interior side of the building. The fill box may include a first port connected to the used liquid tank and a second port connected to the fresh liquid tank. The fill box enables the used liquid tank to be drained from outside the building and enables the fresh liquid tank to be refilled from outside the building. For example, in certain embodiments, the cooking apparatus is located within a restaurant and a service company gains access to the tank through the fill box so that used cooking oil is drained from the used liquid tank and fresh cooking oil is delivered to the fresh liquid tank.
In certain embodiments, the at least one pump comprises a used liquid pump having an outlet in communication with the used liquid tank and a fresh liquid pump having an inlet in communication with the fresh liquid tank. The nozzle is connected to the used liquid pump and the fresh liquid pump.
The piping for connecting the nozzle with the tanks through the at least one pump preferably includes a material suitable for conveying hot cooking oil. The piping also desirably includes, where appropriate, food grade materials.
A control box is desirably connected to the at least one pump for actuating the at least one pump in draining and refilling the cooking apparatus. The control box may be connected to the at least one pump through wiring.
The nozzle preferably includes an actuator connected to the at least one pump for draining and refilling the cooking apparatus. The actuator may be connected to the at least one pump through wiring.
In certain preferred embodiments, the actuator comprises a first switch in communication with the fresh liquid pump and a second switch in communication with the used liquid pump. The actuator may comprise at least one switch for actuating a fresh liquid pump and a used liquid pump. The at least one pump may be actuated through an electronic component having a different arrangement. Any known type of switch may be used and any known type of communication system may be used to actuate the at least one pump. For example, the nozzle and/or control box actuators may communicate with the pumps wirelessly.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method of draining and refilling liquids in a cooking apparatus comprises inserting an inlet of a nozzle into the cooking apparatus, actuating a used liquid pump in communication with the nozzle, actuating a fresh liquid pump in communication with the nozzle, directing fresh liquid to the cooking apparatus. The nozzle is used in both draining and refilling the cooking apparatus. There is no need to connect and disconnect temporary tubing to the cooking apparatus, which must be stored after the draining and refilling of the cooking apparatus.
Desirably, the method includes selecting between a draining mode and a refilling mode for the nozzle. The selecting may comprise selecting between actuation of a used liquid pump and a fresh liquid pump. The method may include refilling the fresh liquid tank or draining the used liquid tank, as needed periodically. Refilling the fresh liquid tank may include accessing the fresh liquid tank at a fill box and draining the used liquid tank may include accessing the used liquid tank at a fill box.
The method may include determining a condition of a fresh liquid tank. If the fresh liquid tank needs to be refilled, a service company may be contacted to refill the fresh liquid tank. In addition, the condition of the fresh liquid tank may be determined prior to draining and refilling the cooking apparatus of liquid. A condition of the used liquid tank may also be determined. A service company may be contacted if the used liquid tank should be drained. In addition, the condition of the used liquid tank may be determined before the cooking apparatus is drained and used liquid is attempted to be added to the used liquid tank. The condition of the tanks is desirably determined at a control box connected to the fresh liquid tank and/or used liquid tank.